Wrong Side of the Tracks Jam--From punk to funk, the El Madrid (421 First Street SW), home to a few punk shows over a decade ago, is being revived by Midget Mogul Productions. Felonious Groove Foundation, Mystic Vision, Le Chat Lunatique and Wendy Colonna will bring in da funk on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. $15 gets you in with a fun, plastic wristband. Call the Midget Mogul infoline at (505) 231-2408 to stay up to date.

Neat Beat Manifesto

Join comrades Kentifyr and Church for KGB, a vodka-scented shot of goth, industrial, post-punk, powernoise and beyond—plus your requests! Kicks off at 9 p.m. every Thursday night at OPM. Pass the borscht. (LM)

with The Mindy Set and Lomita

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

Monday, Jan. 30; Burt's Tiki Lounge (21-and-over), free: Austin's The Black Angels, who are pumped to visit Albuquerque, answered a bunch of questions I sent them via e-mail, but unfortunately, there's only room for these three:

with Danny Winn and The Earthlings, Fighting Chance, Made in Bangladesh and Half Stache

By Amy Dalness

Launchpad on Thursday, Jan. 26, $8 (all-ages): Fight the urge to judge this band by their name; Liquid Cheese does not sound like "liquid cheese." There is no oozing squishiness when they're on stage. They are solid, precise, energizing and satisfying (if “liquid cheese” could be described as satisfying, then there may be a correlation, after all). They really should make it more apparent why they chose their band name—for now I'll write it off as some insanely funny inside joke and be content that they, at least, understand.

These are the words one loves to hear when applying for a loan, buying a new car and asking what experience is needed to participate in one of New Mexico Jazz Workshop's adult education classes.

If you have have played a jazz instrument, strummed a guitar or belted your little heart out, then Maud Beenhouwer, education coordinator for the New Mexico Jazz Workshop, says you are the perfect candidate for the classes they are offering this spring semester. This is really good news if your saxophone has been sitting in the back of the closet, gathering dust, waiting for you to get back in the groove.

There's a lot of Akron/Family lore floating around out there about how the group wears Rip Van Winkle beards, is involved in a religious cult of their own concoction and holds some type of super-human musical capabilities/strength. The truth, disappointingly, is that the beards are scaled back, there is no cult and they are not super-human (at least, in the Dungeons and Dragons sense).

From looking at pictures of Frankel (including the one on Chatterbox's cover) one could reasonably deduce that he is an absolute piece of shit. That said, the album's intimate vocals and gushing melodies will have Elliot Smith and Nick Drake fans convinced they've found their new indie messiah. The biggest knock against the guitar- and vocals-based EP is its brief, 23-minute length. Proof that you can't judge an album by the douche on its cover.